U.S. Geological Survey, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, 2630 Fanta Reed Road, La Crosse, Wisconsin 546032007Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park Vegetation Mapping Project - Project Boundaryvector digital dataUSGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping ProgramWaterton-Glacier International Peace Park Vegetation Mapping ProjectDenver, ColoradoU.S. Geological Survey, Center for Biological InformaticsA detailed report on how this data set was created is available to download from the Vegetation Mapping Program's Web site. The report discusses methods and results, and includes plant community descriptions and dichotomous keys, map classification and descriptions, and AA contingency tables.http://www1.usgs.gov/vip/glac/glacbdy.zipdoi:10.5066/F7513W46The geographic information system (GIS) format project boundary for the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park was created to support an international mapping effort. This data set is designed to identify (1) the approximate geographic boundary of Glacier National Park, (2) the approximate geographic boundary of Waterton National Park, (3) the boundary of the Blood Indian Timber Limit inclusion, and (4) a buffer area around the exterior of the parks. The boundary data are distributed as a geographic information system (GIS) shapefile data set, using Universal Transverse Mercator zone 12 mapping coordinates, North American Datum 1983.The USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program (VMP) is a cooperative effort by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the National Park Service (NPS) to classify, describe, and map existing vegetation of national park units for the Natural Resource Inventory and Monitoring Program. The goals of the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park (WGIPP) vegetation mapping project were to (1) adequately describe and map plant communities of WGIPP and (2) provide the NPS Inventory and Monitoring Program, resource managers, and biological researchers with useful baseline vegetation information.The project boundary and map extent includes all lands within the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park (WGIPP) along with some adjacent lands. For the Waterton Lakes National Park (WLNP) mapping effort, park lands cover approximately 49,942 (123,408 acres), although WLNP commonly reports 50,500 ha (124,788 acres). Additional lands associated with the Blood Indian Timber Limit adds another 1,931 ha (4,771 acres) to the Canadian portion of the data set. For the Glacier National Park (GNP) mapping effort, park lands cover 408,056 ha (1,008,328 acres) in area, with an approximate 1.6 km (1.0 mile) buffer around the entire park. The size of this buffer is reduced on the northern boundary of the park, along the Canada boarder. On the eastern side of Glacier (east of the continental divide), the buffer region extends a consistent 1.6 km (1.0 mile). The buffer in this area includes lands associated with the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, which extends from the Canada-United States International Border to just south of East Glacier. The Lewis and Clark National Forest and some private ownership areas make up the rest of the eastern buffer area, from just south of East Glacier to the continental divide at Marias Pass. On the western side of the continental divide, the buffer is of variable size. The boundary of this buffer was determined by Glacier national Park staff. In some areas it may be as narrow as 60 m (197 feet) or as wide as nearly 4.0 km (2.5 miles). The buffer area on this side of the park includes lands belonging to the Flathead National Forest, private ownership, and British Columbia, Canada. A 100 m (328 ft) buffer extends into British Columbia, Canada, to the north of the park. In total, 494,845 ha (1,222,789 acres) are included in this data set.1997publication dateCompleteAs neededGlacier National Park & Waterton Lakes National Park and environs-114.514955-113.21242349.22102048.202507noneWaterton-Glacier International Peace ParkGlacier National ParkWaterton Lakes National ParkUSGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping ProgramNational Park ServiceParks CanadaU.S. Geological SurveyProject BoundarynoneGlacier National ParkWaterton Lakes National ParkUnited StatesCanadaMontanaAlbertaFlathead CountyGlacier CountyNoneNoneUSGS BRD Center for Biological InformaticsUSGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program Coordinatormailing and physical addressDenver Federal Center, Building 810, MS 302DenverColorado80225(303) 202-4220303-202-4219gs-b-npsveg@usgs.govMicrosoft Windows XP Version 5.1 (Build 2600) Service Pack 2; ESRI ArcCatalog 9.2.2.1350Data were visually examined to ensure boundary matches that of the park.All mapping areas of WGIPP were included to achieve a standard boundaryDataset copied.UnknownVectorG-polygon4Universal Transverse Mercator120.999600-111.0000000.000000500000.0000000.000000coordinate pair0.0000010.000001metersNorth American Datum of 1983Geodetic Reference System 806378137.000000298.257222wgipp_bdyShapefile attribute table. Water-Glacier Project BoundaryUMESC USGS NPSFIDInternal feature number. These numbers are automatically generated by the software program ArcInfo Workstation, and are used by the software to track individual polygon features stored in shapefiles. Most software program will not display these numbers when the data set's attribute table is displayed.ESRISequential unique whole numbers that are automatically generated.ShapeFeature geometry.ESRICoordinates defining the features.IDThese numbers are also automatically generated by the software program ArcInfo Workstation, and are used by the software to track individual polygon features stored as coverages (files used with ArcInfo Workstation).ArcInfo WorkstationUnique numbers defining the features.AREAArea of an individual polygon, represented in square meters.ArcInfo WorkstationNumberic value defining area of the features.PERIMETERLength of the line used to define the outer boundary of an individual polygon. Perimeter measurements are expressed in meters.ArcInfo WorkstationNumberic value defining perimeter of the features.ACRESNumber of acres located in each polygon. These numbers were calculated using information stored in the Area field.Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park Vegetation Mapping ProjectNumberic value defining acres of the features.HECTARESNumber of hectares located in each polygon. These numbers were calculated using information stored in the Area field.Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park Vegetation Mapping ProjectNumberic value defining hectares of the features.BOUNDARYThe name of the park or buffer area.Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park Vegetation Mapping ProjectBlood Indian Timber LimitBlood Indian Timber Limit BoundaryNPSGlacier National ParkGlacier National Park BoundaryNPSProject BufferBuffer added by UMESC of mapping extentUMESCWaterton Lakes National ParkWaterton Lakes National Park BoundaryWaterton Lakes National ParkPROJECTThe name of the mapping project these boundaries are used to support.Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park Vegetation Mapping ProjectWaterton-Glacier IPP Vegetation MappingFull Extent of WGIPP Vegetation Mapping AreaUMESC USGS-NPS VMPUSGS/CSS/Core Science Analytics and SynthesisUSGS-NPS Vegetation Characterization Program Coordinatormailing and physical addressDenver Federal Center, Building 810, MS 302DenverColorado80225(303) 202-4220303-202-4219gs-b-npsveg@usgs.govDownloadable DataThe U.S. Geological Survey and the National Park Service shall not be held liable for improper or incorrect use of the data described and/or contained herein. These data and related graphics (if available) are not legal documents and are not intended to be used as such.
The information contained in these data is dynamic and may change over time. The data are not better than the original sources from which they were derived. It is the responsibility of the data user to use the data appropriately and consistent within the limitations of geospatial data in general and these data in particular. Any related graphics (if available) are intended to aid the data user in acquiring relevant data; it is not approriate to use the related graphics as data.
The U.S. Geological Survey and the National Park Service gives no warranty, expressed or implied, as to the accuracy, reliability, or completeness of these data. It is strongly recommended that these data are directly acquired from an U.S. Geological Survey and National Park Service servers and not indirectly through other sources which may have changed the data in some way. Although these data have been processed successfully on a computer system at the U.S. Geological Survey, no warranty expressed or implied is made regarding the utility of the data on another system or for general or scientific purposes, nor shall the act of distribution constitute any such warranty. This disclaimer applies both to individual use of the data and aggregate use with other data. It is also strongly recommended that careful attention be paid to the contents of the metadata file associated with these data. Mention of trade names or commercial products in this metadata report does not constitute endorsement or recommendation for use by the U. S. Department of the Interior, U. S. Geological Survey and National Park Service.HTMLhttp://www.usgs.gov/core_science_systems/csas/vip/parks/glac.htmlInternet AccessNone2007071820100526USGS/CSS/Core Science Analytics and SynthesisUSGS-NPS Vegetation Characterization Program Coordinatormailing and physical addressDenver Federal Center, Building 810, MS 302DenverColorado80225(303) 202-4220303-202-4219gs-b-npsveg@usgs.govFGDC Biological Data Profile of the Content Standard for Digital Geospatial MetadataFGDC-STD-001.1-1999http://www.usgs.gov/core_science_systems/csas/metadata/index.html